Fishing for Perl - the New Perl User Experience

Fishing for Perl - The New Perl User Experience

Erez Schatz

April 5, 2010 ...follow me, and I will show you how to ﬁsh for people - Matthew 4:19 Marketing Marketing

Everyone think Perl is Dead. Marketing

Everyone think Perl is Dead. Everyone think Ruby is on the rise. Marketing

Everyone think Perl is Dead. Everyone think Ruby is on the rise. Real-life wise, neither is 100% true. Marketing

Everyone think Perl is Dead. Everyone think Ruby is on the rise. Real-life wise, neither is 100% true. Marketing wise, both are 100% correct. Marketing

Everyone think Perl is Dead. Everyone think Ruby is on the rise. Real-life wise, neither is 100% true. Marketing wise, both are 100% correct. 200% even. Marketing

Ruby’s killer app is Ruby on Rails. Marketing

Ruby’s killer app is Ruby on Rails. Actually, Ruby’s killer app is Ruby on Rails’ marketing. Marketing

The Perl Foundation Marketing Committee Marketing

The Perl Foundation Marketing Committee Create a bait for many users to try Perl Marketing

The Perl Foundation Marketing Committee Create a bait for many users to try Perl May reel in many new users Marketing

The Perl Foundation Marketing Committee Create a bait for many users to try Perl May reel in many new users But... Marketing

How do we want to be seen? Marketing

DWM - dwm.suckless.org Marketing

DWM - dwm.suckless.org

“Because dwm is customized through editing its source code, its pointless to make binary packages of it. This keeps its userbase small and elitist. No novices asking stupid questions.” Marketing

DWM - dwm.suckless.org

“Because dwm is customized through editing its source code, its pointless to make binary packages of it. This keeps its userbase small and elitist. No novices asking stupid questions.”

Is this Perl? Context Context

Context dictate attitude. Context

• Meeting Context

• Meeting

• Presentation Context

• Meeting

• Presentation

• Convention Talk Context

• Meeting

• Presentation

• Convention Talk

• Chat Context

• Meeting

• Presentation

• Convention Talk

• Chat

• Mailing List New User Experience New User Experience

Give a man a ﬁsh; you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to ﬁsh; and you have fed him for a lifetime. New User Experience

Give a man a ﬁsh; you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to ﬁsh; and you have fed him for a lifetime.

Can you teach a starving man? New User Experience

Give a man a ﬁsh; you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to ﬁsh; and you have fed him for a lifetime.

Can you teach a starving man? Will he be willing to listen? New User Experience

Build a man a ﬁre, and he’ll be warm for a day. Set a man on ﬁre, and he’ll be warm for the rest of his life - Terry Pratchett New User Experience

Build a man a ﬁre, and he’ll be warm for a day. Set a man on ﬁre, and he’ll be warm for the rest of his life - Terry Pratchett

You can only make a ﬁrst impression once New User Experience

• “This isn’t a Perl question” New User Experience

• “This isn’t a Perl question”

• “This doesn’t belong in this forum/list” New User Experience

• “This isn’t a Perl question”

• “This doesn’t belong in this forum/list”

• “Your code fragment is useless” New User Experience

• “This isn’t a Perl question”

• “This doesn’t belong in this forum/list”

• “Your code fragment is useless”

• “You should work on your Spelling/Grammar” New User Experience

• “Use strictures” New User Experience

• “Use strictures”

• “Don’t use C for-loops” New User Experience

• “Use strictures”

• “Don’t use C for-loops”

• “Your code isn’t formatted/indented right” New User Experience

• “Use strictures”

• “Don’t use C for-loops”

• “Your code isn’t formatted/indented right”

• “Use a module” New User Experience

You can’t just make shit up and expect the computer to know what you mean, Retardo! - Mark Jason Dominus New User Experience

• How To Ask Questions The Smart Way catb.org/˜esr/faqs/smart-questions.html New User Experience

• How To Ask Questions The Smart Way catb.org/˜esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

• What is a minimal working example? minimalbeispiel.de/mini-en.html New User Experience

• How To Ask Questions The Smart Way catb.org/˜esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

• What is a minimal working example? minimalbeispiel.de/mini-en.html

• XY Problem perlmonks.org/index.pl?node_id=542341 RTFM RTFM

Read The Fathomless Manual RTFM

Read The Fathomless Manual

• LWP::UserAgent ⇓ RTFM

Read The Fathomless Manual

• LWP::UserAgent ⇓

• HTTP::Response ⇓ RTFM

Read The Fathomless Manual

• LWP::UserAgent ⇓

• HTTP::Response ⇓ • HTTP::Message ⇓ RTFM

Read The Fathomless Manual

• LWP::UserAgent ⇓

• HTTP::Response ⇓ • HTTP::Message ⇓ • HTTP::Headers RTFM

Read The Furtive Manual RTFM

Read The Furtive Manual perldoc -f open ⇓ RTFM

Read The Furtive Manual perldoc -f open ⇓ open(FH, "<$filename") open(my $fh, ’<’, "input.txt") open(my $tmp, "+>", undef) open(my $dbase, ’+<’, ’dbase.mine’) open(ARTICLE, ’-|’, "caesar <$article") open my $oldout, ">&STDOUT" open OLDERR, ">&", *STDERR open(FILEHANDLE, "<&=", $fd) open(FH, ">>&=", OLDFH) RTFM

There are So Many Different Ways of Doing it! RTFM

Read The Full-featured Manual RTFM

Read The Full-featured Manual

Read The Faithful Manual RTFM

Another form of RTFM: RTFM

Another form of RTFM:

Q: What does this line mean? $ **= $ , / {$ } / for 2 .. 42; RTFM

Another form of RTFM:

Q: What does this line mean? $ **= $ , / {$ } / for 2 .. 42;

A: perldoc perlvar RTFM

Another form of RTFM:

Q: What does this line mean? $ **= $ , / {$ } / for 2 .. 42;

A: perldoc.perl.org/perlvar.html The Socratic Method The Socratic Method

Programmers are required to think The Socratic Method

Programmers are required to think

Programming is ﬁnding answers to questions The Socratic Method

Programmers are required to think

Programming is ﬁnding answers to questions

Are we doing them harm by giving them the answers they ask for? The Socratic Method

Socrates used only oral communication The Socratic Method

Socrates used only oral communication

With very few students The Socratic Method

Socrates used only oral communication

With very few students

Who were philosophers like Plato and Xenophon The Socratic Method

Socrates used only oral communication

With very few students

Who were philosophers like Plato and Xenophon

And was executed by drinking Hemlock. What to do? What to do?

Give them the bloody answer. What to do?

Give them the bloody answer.

Then give guidance for future reference. What to do?

Sell the solution. Be Positive

Be Positive. Be Positive

Be Positive.

Don’t use XML::Simple Be Positive

Be Positive.

Use XML::Twig Be Positive

Be Positive.

Use XML::Twig Don’t use Regex to parse HTML Be Positive

Be Positive.

Use XML::Twig Use an HTML parser Idioms

Be Idiomatic. Idioms

Be Idiomatic.

But not Enigmatic. Idioms

Be Idiomatic.

But not Enigmatic.

Idioms are good. Idioms

Be Idiomatic.

But not Enigmatic.

Idioms are good.

Mnemonics less good. What to do?

Treat them as peers. What to do?

Treat them as peers. Treat them as beginners. What to do?

Treat them as peers. Treat them as Perl learners. What to do?

“...don’t hesitate to be be kind to them, and help them connect ... so that they can grow and bloom into experienced wielders of Perl.” What to do?

“...don’t hesitate to be be kind to them, and help them connect ... so that they can grow and bloom into experienced wielders of Perl.”

“But don’t hesitate to call them insane, either, when the situation calls for it.” - Carl Masak http://use.perl.org/˜masak/journal/40110 Perl and the newcomer

Perl is not intuitive Perl and the newcomer

Perl is not intuitive at ﬁrst. Perl and the newcomer

• Context Perl and the newcomer

• Context

• CPAN Perl and the newcomer

• Context

• CPAN

• References Perl and the newcomer

• Context

• CPAN

• References

• TIMTOWTDI Perl and the newcomer

Principle of Least Astonishment Perl and the newcomer

Principle of Least Astonishment

“Any language that doesn’t occasionally surprise the novice will pay for it by continually surprising the expert” - Larry Wall Where to go? Where to go?

• learn.perl.org Where to go?

• learn.perl.org

• nntp.perl.org/group/perl.beginners Where to go?

• learn.perl.org

• nntp.perl.org/group/perl.beginners

• perlmonks.org Where to go?

• learn.perl.org

• nntp.perl.org/group/perl.beginners

• perlmonks.org

• strawberryperl.com Where to go?

• learn.perl.org

• nntp.perl.org/group/perl.beginners

• perlmonks.org

• strawberryperl.com

• perldoc.perl.org Where to go?

• learn.perl.org

• nntp.perl.org/group/perl.beginners

• perlmonks.org

• strawberryperl.com

• perldoc.perl.org

• search.cpan.org Thank You